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Cork oak and pine bark, two of the most prolific byproducts of the European forestry sector, were assessed as biosorbents for eliminating potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from water-based solutions. Our research suggests that bioadsorption stands out as a viable and environmental eco-friendly technology, presenting a sustainable method for the extraction of PTEs from polluted water sources. This
IMPORTANCE Treatment trials require sound knowledge on the natural course of disease. OBJECTIVE To assess clinical features, genetic findings, and genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) associated with biallelic sequence variations in the PDE6A gene in preparation for a gene supplementation trial. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This prospective, longitudinal,
Packed beds with methane steam reforming reaction (MSR) can be used as thermochemical storage devices. The packing configuration can have a significant effect on the flow distribution which will further influence the heat/mass transfer, dispersion and reaction characteristics. In the present paper, the hydraulic, dispersion, heat/mass transfer and the MSR reaction properties are investigated in pa
Objectives: To study how radiologists’ perceived ability to interpret digital mammography (DM) images is affected by decreases in image quality. Methods: One view from 45 DM cases (including 30 cancers) was degraded to six levels each of two acquisition-related issues (lower spatial resolution and increased quantum noise) and three post-processing-related issues (lower and higher contrast and incr
In this paper, a numerical study of flow, reactions and NOx emissions from a biomass boiler is presented. Detailed reaction mechanisms for the decomposition of tar species, combustion of hydrocarbons and formation of NOx are employed by adopting appropriate reaction sets from literature. The proposed mechanism is used to perform CFD simulations of a laboratory-scale biomass boiler, and temperature
Pharmaceuticals that are not completely metabolized in the human body are excreted in wastewater and may find their way into surface waters, where they can have harmful effects on aquatic fauna and flora. The implementation of ozonation at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals discharged to the environment. Despite the technology readiness level of ozone trea
Digital holography (DH) has been extensively applied in particle field measurements due to its promising ability to simultaneously provide the three-dimensional location and in-plane size of particles. Particle detection methods are crucial in hologram data processing to determine particle size and particle in-focus depth, which directly affect the measurement accuracy and robustness of DH. In thi
Nondestructive imaging with both a large field of view and a high spatial resolution is crucial to understand complex materials and processes in science and technology. X-ray ptychography can provide highest spatial resolution but is limited in the field of view by the acquisition time and coherent flux at modern x-ray sources. By multi-beam ptychography, the sample can be imaged in parallel by se
The natural products pulchrol and pulchral, isolated from the roots of the Mexican plant Bourreria pulchra, have previously been shown to possess an antiparasitic activity toward Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania braziliensis and L. amazonensis, protozoa responsible for the Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. These infections have been classified as neglected diseases, and still require the development
Orientation towards application, transdisciplinarity and social distribution are prominent ideas when policy prescribes how to conduct research on complex, real-world issues. Issues dealt with in ageing research are both epistemologically complex and politically contentious. By using the metaphor of ‘travelling ideas,' we have followed these ideas on their journey into 17 approved grant proposals
Modelling capabilities have drastically improved in the last decade. However, in most of the cases the fire response of building elements is predicted by fitting input material properties to the models in order to match test data. This paper presents models developed to predict the unexposed side temperature of stone wool layered composites with stainless steel or gypsum claddings exposed to sever
Background/Aims Prematurely born infants undergo costly, stressful eye examinations to uncover the small fraction with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) that needs treatment to prevent blindness. The aim was to develop a prediction tool (DIGIROP-Screen) with 100% sensitivity and high specificity to safely reduce screening of those infants not needing treatment. DIGIROP-Screen was compared with four
The problem of echo separation using digital beamforming (DBF) on receive for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is of notable importance to allow for practical systems. Regrettably, current DBF-MIMO-SAR schemes, such as the short-term shift-orthogonal (STSO) scheme, are computationally cumbersome, increasing the required hardware complexity. To alleviate this pro
Background: Minimally invasive cardiac surgery provokes substantial pain and therefore analgesic consumption. The effect of fascial plane blocks on analgesic efficacy and overall patient satisfaction remains unclear. We therefore tested the primary hypothesis that fascial plane blocks improve overall benefit analgesia score (OBAS) during the initial 3 days after robotically assisted mitral valve r
Objective: To investigate the impact of including fluorine-18 fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scanning in the planning of paediatric radiotherapy (RT). Methods: Target volumes were first delineated without and subsequently re-delineated with access to 18F-FDG PET scan information, on duplicate CT sets. RT plans were generated for three-dimensional conformal photon RT (
A novel prototype polymer-coated adsorbent (PCA) has been developed for the effective expanded bed recovery of protein products from particulate feedstocks. The adsorbents were manufactured using the three-phase emulsification process by which the selected core phases (anion- and cation-exchangers and a custom-assembled pseudo-affinity adsorbent) were coated by an agarose gel. This new non-stick e
Background: OpenSim models are typically based on cadaver findings that are generalized to represent a wide range of populations, which curbs their validity. Patient-specific modelling through incorporating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) improves the model's biofidelity with respect to joint alignment and articulations, muscle wrapping, and ligament insertions. The purpose of this study was to d
An appropriate and stable indoor climate in museums is crucial to guarantee an appropriate preservation of our cultural heritage. Depending on the collection, indoor temperature and relative humidity need to be kept within a certain range. Fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity could cause damage to museum artefacts and may require higher energy needs than necessary. Biochar is a materi
